MONTEVALLO, Alabama -- One by one, the University
of Alabama Army and Air Force ROTC candidates presented a box containing soil
from American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries and other sites around the
world.

With a white-gloved left hand on bottom and the right
firmly placed atop each box containing the hallowed ground from the locations,
the names of the battle sites sounded from loudspeakers at the American Village:
Normandy and Somme in Germany, Sicily-Rome in Italy, Arlington and Yorktown in
the United States, Vietnam, Afghanistan and more.

"It is ground on which America's heroes stood up for
their country and its freedoms," said Tom Butler, American Village's founding board chairman and trustee, just before each box went into the base of the statue
titled "Liberty Uniting the Colonies" in front of the new National Veterans
Shrine and Register of Honor at the Montevallo landmark.

The carefully choreographed ceremony marked the pinnacle
of today's unveiling of the American Village's tribute to veterans of the United
States during the two-hour-plus dedication attended by more than 500 people on Presidents Day.

The purpose of the addition is to preserve the legacy of
the country's veterans for the benefit of future generations, said Tom Walker,
American Village's president and chief executive officer. "Today our country
faces a growing national amnesia" concerning the country's history and the
vital role played by those in the military, he said.

The database found at www.veteransregisterofhonor.com
as well as the shrine that is a replica of Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia
received their formal dedication with participation by U.S. Sen. Jeff
Sessions, U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, Alabama Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Mary Bomar,
former director of the National Park Service.

"This National Shrine, I think, represents a brilliant idea
for us to place here," with the use of technology, "the heritage and history of
those who served us so well in the past," Sessions told the crowd.

The sacrifices of the country's military men and women in
history cannot be forgotten, Bomar said. "I hope we will understand that as
citizens of this great nation, we cannot simply go along for the ride," she
said.

Ivey urged those in attendance to help tell their veterans'
stories. "I challenge you to honor our veterans and to teach their stories to
the young people," she said.

Many times throughout the ceremony, veterans received
recognition and praise from the speakers and audience members. Many military
men and women often saluted and returned the gratitude.

Lt. Gen. David Fadok, commander and president of Air
University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, thanked the American
Village "for the honor and respect the National Veterans Shrine bestows on us
and this great nation."

"I think it's absolutely fitting," said Christana
Hudson-Frazier, a Desert Storm veteran with the American Legion in Northport. The
importance of veterans should be preserved and "we should leave that legacy to
our children. This is so fitting and it couldn't be done in a better fashion,"
she said.

Montgomery-based American Legion Department Commander
George Krigbaum called the monument "beautiful" and a benefit to the public. "This
has just been a remarkable portrayal of the heritage that needs to be
saved, the history," he said.

While the building's brick exterior reflects the historic
Philadelphia building, the inside provides computer kiosks for the database and
displays works of art specially made for the American Village. Included are
nine paintings on walls as well as a 100-foot frieze near the ceiling created
by Peter Waddell of Washington, D.C.

"This project is really the result of one man's vision --
Tom Walker," said Waddell, who has created artwork for the U.S. Capitol and
Mount Vernon, the monument dedicated to George Washington's home.

"Almost 20 years ago, Tom Walker drew on a napkin ... the
dream of the place that would attempt to reverse the historical illiteracy"
growing in the nation, said Cathy Randall, the American Village's board
chairwoman. "This is Tom Walker's dream and we are here because of that dream."